The Biden administration has delayed turning over documents detailing Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's use of private government jets, according to a conservative watchdog group.
The Washington Post reported in February that the Transportation Department Office of Inspector General (OIG) would review 18 flights Buttigieg made on Federal Aviation Administration-operated (FAA) planes on seven total trips following a request from Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.
Private jets are five to 14 times more polluting than commercial aircraft and 50 times more polluting than trains, according to Transport and Environment, a European energy group.
That's noteworthy because Buttigieg has referred to climate change as an urgent "crisis."
Americans for Public Trust (APT) in June sued the FAA to obtain information regarding Buttigieg's flights.
The agency, though, has stonewalled handing over documents, and has missed key deadlines, APT said.
"It’s sadly ironic that the FAA is wasting taxpayer dollars by stonewalling our lawsuit for records about Pete Buttigieg wasting taxpayer dollars," APT Executive Director Caitlin Sutherland told the Washington Examiner.
"Despite repeated promises they would hand over records, and then missing those deadlines over and over, we now have proof that the FAA did not meaningfully work on our request until after we filed a lawsuit."
The Examiner said APT filed records requests in November 2022 and January 2023 hoping to uncover flight logs, passenger manifests, and names of any members of Congress or White House officials who flew on the jets.
The FAA apparently located 32 records in response to APT’s requests, though it doesn't plan to turn over the documents until about Oct. 31, the watchdog group said.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, federal agencies must provide relevant records asked for within 20 working days, or 30 working days in the case of an extension being deemed necessary.
"After waiting for the better part of a year, we’ve now been told the FAA needs nearly three more months to review and produce just 32 pages documenting Pete Buttigieg’s private jet travel," Sutherland said. "This raises serious concerns about the political meddling this administration is willing to engage in to hide the truth from the public."
The Post reported that the FAA said it maintains a fleet of aircraft primarily for safety research. However, the aircraft also can be used by other government agencies and the Transportation Department to carry high-ranking officials.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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